A Crisis (That Must Be Handled)
by GGMK
Summary: The Avengers have yet another crisis to deal with. One that may be worse than a bunch of Chitauri! Featuring Guest-stars and robots! My first Avengers fan-fic!
1. Meeting for the Crisis (Its early)

Tony Stark was finally getting ready to hit the sack, after quite a few hours of non-stop tinkering in his lab. Yeah, it probably wasn't very healthy, staying up all night just to see if he could build a suit with a pedometer, but…why the heck not, right?

He turned off the final computer, and then trudged up the stairs to his bedroom. Sure, he could use the elevator, but his room was conveniently only a floor above his office. That way, he could always be near his precious suits. And no, that didn't make him creepy. It just made him very dedicated to his work. And what if someone tried to steal the suit? At least he'd be nearby to try and stop the thief.

Tony crawled into the not-so-empty bed. Pepper was already there, and of course, fast asleep. Tony felt kinda guilty for that…but he'd make it up to her, somehow. He was nothing if not resourceful. But he would think about that in the morning. As he closed his eyes, the alarm rang.

No. Just no. This had to be a sick joke. No one would call this late (_early_?), not right when Tony was about to count armor. Sighing, Tony got up, and went to pick up the phone.

"Hello? This better be good, because I am five second away from hanging up" Tony said, trying to put some sternness in his tired voice. The yawn that followed wrecked the effect, though. **Darn**.

"Tony, this is the emergency line. I wouldn't call if it weren't very serious", a commanding voice replied. Tony knew who it was. Nick Fury, the stiff-backed head of S.H.I.E.L.D. But even Fury didn't usually call after five A.M. Something must be up.

"Okay, I'm awake. Not that I want to be, but whatever. I'll nap later. But Fury, please, tell me the Earth is in danger. If it isn't, there is no way this is worth it", Tony replied, trying not to nod off right now.

"This is of the highest priority, Stark. Report to the helicarrier, now!" came the yelled response. Tony resigned himself to the fact that he wouldn't be sleeping anytime soon. He just hoped that Pepper forgave him!

After putting on his standard armor, Iron Man flew to the Helicarrier, knowing that if he was late, Fury would probably scold him, as usual. It's not that Tony even cared, but it did get old after awhile. Fury would yell at him, Stark would pretend to listen, Fury would make a threat, Stark would roll his eyes, etc. Not much variation there.

Upon arriving at his destination, Stark let the facial part of his armor retract. It was easier to talk to people that way. Iron Man entered the conference room, where he met up with some of his team-mates: the patriotic Captain America, the pretty (and **lethal**) Black Widow, and the archer, Hawkeye. They were all sitting at the round table.

"Hey, guys. How come you don't look tired at all? And where are blondie and Always Angry?" Tony rapidly questioned.

"Unlike you, we get our daily amount of rest", Widow dryly replied. She had little patience with small things like that. In her professional opinion, it was dangerous to get any less sleep than needed. Being sluggish on a mission could lead to your death. That wasn't an option for a S.H.I.E.D. agent.

"As for Thor and Hulk, Thor went to Asgard last week. He wanted to spend some time with his family", Captain America said.

"He wanted to spend time with Jane too, I wager", Hawkeye snickered. Black Widow hit him on the shoulder.

"And I figured that waking Bruce this late might not be a great idea"

The group turned towards the door, as Nick Fury stepped in, followed by Maria Hill.

"But rest assured, we will need their assistance down the line. When that time comes, I will have them brought over. But at the moment, you are all that are necessary. I will brief you on this mission now, but be warned – there is no going back."

The group stiffened. They were ready to hear about the crisis…

**TO BE CONTINUED**

* * *

Author's Notes

And the first chapter of my first Avengers fan-fiction is up. Not much has happened yet, but I have plans. I'm not sure how frequent I'll post updates, but I don't plan to be one of those "updates every six months" people (no offense to people who do, as long as you're busy).


	2. The Lethal Weapon (Exposition)

As Iron Man, Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Captain America waited for Nick Fury to inform them about the important threat, Fury snapped his fingers, and the lights dimmed as a large screen lowered from the ceiling.

"About 20 hours ago, we sent Agent Coulson and his team to a mysterious space station, seemingly abandoned by a foreign power. What they found, though, wasn't human. Before you ask, it wasn't Chitauri, either."

"With all due respect, sir, why did we check out an abandoned space station in the first place?" Black Widow asked.

"Our computers had detected high levels of a strange radiation, one that wasn't listed on any Earth database. In my experience, that is never a good sign" Fury replied as he pressed a button on a remote. The TV screen flashed, and then showcased a large, metallic cannon-shaped object.

It certainly caught Stark's attention. "Well…that looks really impressive. Like something I might build. But, not quite as cool, of course."

"Ok, sir, I'll bite: what is that", Captain America asked, not being as technologically in-the-know as the others in the room. It was obviously a weapon, even Cap knew that, but specifics would be nice. Fury gave them all a dark look.

"We don't know the name, or what kind of metal. We had Coulson and his team evacuate the mission. What we do know is very bad, however. This weapon…seemingly has enough firepower to blow up half of Earth, _at least_".

You could probably hear a pin drop in the room at that moment. It was a pretty hard thing to take in; the Avengers had never faced anything with that much raw power. It was finally Stark who spoke first, no surprise.

"I don't see the problem here, Fury. Why don't I just fly up to that station, blow up the lethal weapon, and fly back in time for a martini and a pool party?" Tony was already calculating in his mind how long it would take to reach the station, what firepower he would need, and thus, which armor he should bring. The other three nodded at the question.

"You didn't let me finish" Nick said grimly. Tony rolled his eyes.

"_Maybe if you hadn't done that obvious pause_", Tony muttered under his breath. Fury ignored him as he went on.

"Unfortunately, flying up there is no longer in option. It seems that when the SHIELD team set foot in the space station, it set off some kind of defense system. The team had barely escaped before a large, seemingly impenetrable energy barrier went around the station. Nothing can get in, I'm afraid. My best scientists have run calculations, and have all come to the conclusion that even the strongest Iron Man armor can't break it."

"How about Thor or Hulk?, Hawkeye questioned as he fingered one of his arrows.

"The barrier is made of energy, so for all Hulk's strength, it wouldn't matter. Thor would be able to…but not without destroying the whole station in the process, and it's possible that if we blew up the cannon by accident, it would have bad ramifications for Earth", Fury explained, somehow all in one breath.

"So, that's it? We just sit here and twiddle our thumbs? No thanks, Fury", Tony stated as he got up from his seat.

"I never said that" Fury said as he let out a rare grin. "I never said that at all…"

**To be Continued**

* * *

Sorry for all the exposition, guys! The next chapter should finally have some action! So look forward to it.

And yup, the aliens aren't Chitauri! Ooh, there go all your guesses.


	3. Old Enemies (Generators)

Iron Man flew towards a warehouse in London. With his rocket boosters, the flight from the Hellicarrier took less than half an hour. Not to toot his own horn, but he dared Thor to fly faster than that! He landed on the docks with a loud "thump" noise. He could have landed softly, but since when did he avoid making a flash entrance?

The warehouse in front of him, labeled "13" in dripping, white paint, didn't look very inviting. Iron Man wasn't exactly waiting for an invitation, though, so he decided that he didn't need to knock. Walking inside, not even trying to be quiet or stealthy, Stark thought to himself that finding the generator would be easy. After he walked around for a few minutes inside the warehouse, he decided that the word "easy" couldn't be applied here. The warehouse was filled with boxes, there were many obstructions, nooks where one could hide something, etc.

That's when he heard a hissing sound, coming from a small, not-quite closet that Stark hadn't noticed before. Edging closer, palms of his hands facing forward, Stark took in intake of breath. If there was a giant snake there, he didn't want to be caught unawares. Taking a few more steps, Stark paused when he heard a charging noise. His eyes widened! Quickly using his boots to blast him back, he narrowly dodged an energy-weapon that smashed through the mini-closet.

Quickly getting to his feet, Stark noted the glowing weapon had the Stark insignia. _Of course, it's always my tech, isn't it? I need to start suing some people._

"Hello, Tony. I see you're still fast on your feet, not that that'll save you", a voice rung out. _Tony reeled back. No. No, it couldn't be!_

"Obadiah Stane? How are you still alive?" Stark yelled, feeling some of his emotional control slipping. He knew he had to calm down, take a deep breath, and relax. But he was facing a man (well, a suit of armor called the Iron Monger, that had a man inside, to be precise) who should by all rights be dead! Then again, maybe he should have expected something like this…

* * *

"_So, Nick, care to run this plan by us?" Tony said, leaning back against the wall, arms crossed._

"_While we can't penetrate the energy barrier surrounding the space station, we have figured out a way to shut it down from the outside", Fury explained, once again turning to the large screen behind him. Pressing one of the buttons on the remote caused the screen to show the schematics of three small electronic devices._

"_These are generators that we suspect helps power that large barrier. Coulson's team found traces of radiation on Earth, the same kind they found at the station. Using our computers, we've pinpointed three locations where these energy signatures are originating from. Team, I want you to split up, and destroy the generators. Iron Man, I want you to fly to London. Widow, Hawkeye, you're headed to Moscow. Rogers, you're staying here in America. You have your orders. Find those generators…and destroy them!"_

* * *

_Well, I expected they'd be guarded. Only an idiot would go in unprepared for that. But Stane? Why would he work with evil aliens? I mean, yeah, he's a jerk and a traitor, but he's human. Doesn't he have a sense of loyalty?_ These thoughts all went through Stark's head as he ducked to avoid some blue energy bolts that Iron Monger shot at him. While they weren't as lethal as Iron Man's repulsor beams, they would probably still hurt, so they were best avoided.

Seeing that his energy bolts were being avoided, Stane brought the Iron Monger armor to get up close and personal. That was fine with Stark. If Stane wanted to have a melee fight, that's what he would get!

* * *

The Helicarrier had dropped Steve off at Harlem. Yup, an evil alien race had hidden one of their generators in Harlem. Steve wondered if these aliens even realized how many heroes lived in the near vicinity of Harlem. Maybe they didn't do their research.

Instead of a warehouse, Steve was surprised to see that the tracking device Nick gave him (courtesy of Pym Labs, apparently) took him to a post office. Awkwardly, the red, white, and blue soldier walked inside, nodding at the gaping civilians.

The tracking device seemed to imply that the generator was in one of the mail slots. At least, Steve thought so. He freely admitted that he wasn't the smartest when it came to technology. Still, he had to be sure.

"Apologies in advance, any and all damage will be compensated", Captain America reassured the bystanders before he ripped out part of the wall near the mail slot. One woman fainted. But it was probably worth it, because the generator was indeed there. Captain America picked it up.

"This doesn't look very fancy, compared to some of Tony's inventions. Alien tech must not be that impressive", Steve said to himself. As he turned to leave, though, a projectile hit his hand, causing him to drop the generator on the floor, where a sliding body snatched it. Having fast reflexes of his own, though, Captain America hurled his shield at the still sliding body, connecting with the wrist. Once again, the generator crashed to the ground.

The body, which had stopped sliding, stood up and dusted himself off. The man was tall, and worse a purple costume that covered his entire body. He had yellow boots, and a sword at his side. Captain America knew who this was; Baron Zemo, his old enemy from back in the day.

"Zemo! What are you doing here?" Steve asked. Had Zemo learned how to time travel? It didn't make sense. It seemed that Zemo wasn't in the mood for words, however, because instead of answering, he simply grabbed his sword, and dashed at Captain A.

With each sword slash, Steve would block with his unbreakable shield. The noise it caused forced any remaining bystander to cover their ears. The noise only increased, though, as Zemo upped the speed of his slashed, until they looked like a blur. In a contest of speed, Zemo might have the advantage, but…

Captain America quickly ducked down, and kicked out, tripping Zemo. Zemo, however, nimble used the momentum to do a backflip, not fall down as Captain America had intended. Steve wouldn't give him a reprieve though, as he ran at Zemo, who was still mid-flip. The two collided.

* * *

Deep in space, some figures were planning.

* * *

On Earth, deep in a laboratory, a figure waited.

**TO BE CONTINUED**

* * *

**Author's Notes**

Well, the action has finally begun. I considered using Red Skull...but I don't like him, so...

The plot thickens. Next chapter, we'll see more of Widow and Hawkeye!


	4. Black Widow and Hawkeye (Assassins)

"So, are we there yet", Hawkeye asked, as he put his hand behind his head, in what Black Widow thought was an annoyingly laidback way, considering that they were heading to Moscow to find and destroy a generator that was probably guarded. But then, that was one of the things she secretly liked about Hawkeye; his ability to stay calm in a dangerous situation, and keep the atmosphere fun. Not that he couldn't get serious when he had to, though. Black Widow knew that Hawkeye was one of the best S.H.I.E.L.D. agents there was. She should know; they had been partners for years, and Hawkeye was one of the few agents who could best her in sparring contests.

"A few more minutes, OK, hotshot? Think you can shut up until then?" she joking asked back. Well, she supposed she was partially serious. Right now, some peace and quiet would be nice. Besides, they had just entered Moscow airspace, which meant they would be landing in less than ten minutes. Surely, he could be quiet until then…_right_?

Hawkeye opened his mouth, probably to make a "smart" retort, when the plane (that Fury assigned them for the mission) violently shook. Hawkeye fell from his chair.

"Clint, we've been hit by some kind of projectile, most likely a missile. Some of our engines have been hit; we'll have to make a crash landing!" Widow said, pressing various buttons, to help make their descent a bit easier. Hawkeye groaned.

"This is why I prefer piloting", he said. Widow shot him a look. Sighing, she shook her head, as the plane evened out a bit over a jungle.

* * *

_The crash wasn't so bad_, she decided. She supposed Fury would be upset that she lost a plane, but they were alive, which counted for something, at least in her book. Hawkeye didn't look that grateful, but his opinion didn't count at the moment.

"Nice landing, Captain Natasha", Hawkeye said bitterly, rubbing his shoulder. Widow ignored him. She was already searching the area for any clues about who could have shot at them, or from where. Unfortunately, them being in a jungle, with so much plant-life and foliage, it was hard to really learn anything. They couldn't even see the sky, the trees were so thick.

She noticed Hawkeye reach in one of his pockets. He removed a green monocle-shaped gadget, and put it on one of his eyes. She knew what it was; it was a device that let him track heat and smoke signatures. She felt re-assured when he grinned.

"Ah, I think I know what hit us, Natasha. Judging from the radiation type, it was a class-A 4567 missile probably shot from a KG56 launcher".

Widow arched an eyebrow. "You're not just making up fancy terms, are you?" Hawkeye gave her a sheepish look.

"No, no, of course not. I wouldn't do that, obviously."

Widow shook her head, and they headed towards where the missile was fired from. After a long trek, they came across an abandoned jeep. It was empty, but that was expected. Their enemy wouldn't be stupid enough to stay in the jeep. Hawkeye kicked the van in annoyance. That's when they heard the beep.

"GET DOWN!" Widow yelled as she and Hawkeye jumped away from the jeep. It blew up, seconds later. Widow smacked Hawkeye.

"You almost got us killed – AGAIN!" she said, losing her temper. Hawkeye out his hands up.

"Look here, you, I –"he got cut off by a bullet whizzing past him! He and Widow quickly dashed behind an oak tree. Widow had drawn her gun, and Hawkeye had his bow at the ready.

"Come on out, don't hide", a taunting voice called out. "Why don't we have some _fun_". Widow peeked from behind the oak. Her eyes widened when she saw the assailant. Black-leather costume, with a bull's-eye symbol on his head. It was Bullseye, a master assassin. He was insane, and worse, very competent. He could kill with a penny or even a cupcake if he had to. To him, anything was a killer weapon.

Hawkeye, the idiot, didn't seem that worried, though. "Hey, you. Yeah, I'm talking to you, you walking dart-board! I don't care how skilled you are, you can't match my archery skills!" With that, Hawkeye quickly jumped out from behind the tree and fired five arrows in a second.

Bullseye laughed, and threw something at the five arrows, breaking them all. Widow groaned; that guy had even better reflexes than she had thought. But what had he thrown? Looking closer, she saw five marbles. What else did this guy have on him?

Bullseye laughed to himself. He would kill them all. _Kill_. _Kill_. _Kill_!

**To Be Continued!**

* * *

Author's Notes

As promised, some Black Widow and Hawkeye. To be honest, I have a hard time writing Hawkeye. I decided to go for his more devil-may-cry attitude from the comics/TV shows, but it can be hard balancing it with Widow's more serious nature.

And yay, Bullseye, a villain who is fun to write!


	5. Iron Man vs Iron Monger (Sky Fight)

Iron Man punched Iron Monger in the face. He made sure to put his back into that punch. If he could win this with one more punch, well, that would be just dandy. Iron Monger backed up a few steps, having been pushed back by the strength of the blow. Growing in confidence, Iron Man used his boosters to tackle Monger through one of the walls of the Warehouse.

_This isn't so bad. Why was I worried? I beat Obadiah before. I'll do it again. My armor has gotten much stronger, thanks to my upgrades. This should be cake, if I say so myself._

As Iron Man leaned in for another punch, Monger shot up like a rocket towards the night air. Stark sighed. He had been hoping for a quick match, but if Monger was gonna fly away like a wimp, this could take awhile.

Iron Man flew after Monger, and was pleased to note that he had the much greater speed. Stark smirked. Maybe Obadiah should have upgraded his mech. As Iron Man rocketed towards Monger, Stane's robot suddenly stopped…and started zooming towards Iron Man. Before Star could react, Monger had punched him, sending him plummeting to Earth. The punch was strong on its own; combined with the momentum, well, it was quite a wallop.

Iron Man stood up, noticing his landing had caused a small crater. Tony knew he would probably have to pay with that. Oh well, he could afford it, obviously. Still, it was annoying that Obadiah had tricked him like that!

"Jarvis, is there any extensive damage?" Tony asked, wanting to know before he flew up to fight again.

"No sir, the only damage I see is to your ego", Jarvis said smugly. Tony ignored him, turning in his boosters again so that he could battle Obadiah in the air.

"Sir, since Obadiah is currently away from the generator, I think it would be wise of us to destroy it now" Jarvis advised.

"Sorry Jarvis, but I have a score to settle", Tony said, zipping towards his enemy. Obadiah laughed, and had the Iron Monger fire some missiles at Iron Man. The missiles were crude, and large, so Iron Man shot them all down easily with some of his smaller wrist projectiles. The ensuing explosion caused some smoke to bloom.

Iron Man used his sensors to find Iron Monger. After a moment, the sensors confirmed Monger's location – behind Iron Man. Stark hastily turned around, only for Iron Monger to wrap a large metallic arm around Iron Man's neck.

"Well, Obadiah, you were known for your bear hugs, weren't you? Sorry, but you'll have to forgive me; I'm not really in the mood", Stark joked, trying to wriggle free. Obadiah just growled. As he couldn't wriggle out, Tony had another idea; he lifted his legs, and placed his boots on Monger's chest.

"Jarvis, activate boosters, full throttle!" Tony yelled. His boosters activated, sending Monger flying backwards. But Tony wouldn't give him time to relax, oh no. He fired his Uni-beam at the still moving Monger, blasting him to the ground.

Tony flew down towards the second crater made that day. He had to make sure that Obadiah wasn't _too_ beat up. As he reached to grab the armor – it vanished!

"What? Jarvis, what just happened?"

"Sir, it seems that the Iron Monger unit was never actually on the ground. Sensors are picking him up in the air. We never shot him down. The one we shot was a holographic image".

Tony couldn't believe this. The Iron Monger could never do that! Obadiah had done some upgrades after all, it seemed.

_Well, if it's a fight Obadiah wants, it's a fight he'll get!_ Tony gritted his teeth, and flew towards the real Iron Monger.

* * *

A powerful being laughed to itself. Little did Iron Man know, but Iron Monger has some more tricks to show off!

* * *

**Author's Notes**

Oooh, Iron Monger is stronger than Stark thought. And the "powerful being" may be the reason!

Sorry, silent song of shadows. Good guess, but nope. :)


End file.
